Estate, Gift & Trust Conference - Virtual (C74514)

DAVID A. HANDLER leads the Trusts and Estates Practice Group of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. David is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), and a member of the NAEPC Estate Planning Hall of Fame as an Accredited Estate Planner (Distinguished), the Chicago Estate Planning Council, and the professional advisory committees of several non-profit organizations. He is the author of numerous articles in estate planning and taxation journals, and writes the monthly “tax update” column for Trusts & Estates Magazine. He is one of only about 20 U.S. lawyers ranked in “Band 1” by Chambers USA in the Private Wealth category, is listed in The Best Lawyers in America©, (Trusts and Estates) and its 2016, 2019 and 2025 Trusts and Estates “Chicago Lawyer of the Year”. David is a co-author of The Complete Estate Planning Sourcebook (published by Wolters Kluwer). He is a frequent lecturer at professional education seminars. David is a graduate of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and received a B.S. Degree in Finance with highest honors from the University of Illinois Gies College of Business.

Ryan James Boyle is a Senior Vice President and Chief U.S. Economist within the Global Risk Management division of Northern Trust. In this role, Ryan is responsible for briefing clients and partners on the economy and business conditions, supporting internal stress testing and capital allocation processes, and publishing economic commentaries. Prior to joining Northern Trust, Ryan held multiple management roles at TransUnion. He researched and reported on trends and key topics in the consumer credit industry, and he led initiatives to improve the breadth, depth, and quality of data reported on consumer files. Before TransUnion, Ryan worked as an economic consultant at Navigant Consulting, supporting expert testimony in competition and securities litigation. He started his career as a business analyst at ABN AMRO/LaSalle Bank. Ryan holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in computer science, with highest honors, from DePaul University. In addition, Ryan completed the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Brian T. Whitlock retired as Senior Tax Partner from a Midwest regional certified public accounting firm in October 2016. He currently practice law.

Brian develops and implements wealth transfer strategies for high net worth individuals; business succession planning; and the administration and tax compliance of trusts, estates, and exempt organizations. Brian is adept at tailoring estate tax deferral and wealth transfer strategies that fulfill the personal and non-tax objectives of clients.

Brian received his B.A. from Northwestern University in 1976 and his J.D. with honors from IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1979, and his L.L.M. (Taxation) with high honors from IIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1989.

For over 13 years, Brian taught as an Adjunct Faculty Member in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the Masters of Science in Taxation Program at the Chicago Campus. He taught both “Taxation Closely Held Business Entities and their Stakeholders” and “Fiduciary Income Taxation”.

Brian is the current Chairman of the Illinois Board of Examiners which oversees the administrate of the CPA Examination in Illinois. He is a Past Chairman of the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS). and a receipient of the ICPAS Lifetime Achievement Award and the Chicago Estate Planning Council’s Austin Fleming Distinguished Service Award.

In addition to his continued active involvement in professional associations of Certified Public Accountants, Brian is a member of the American Bar Association, including its Tax Section and the Real Property and Probate Section; the Illinois State Bar Association; the Chicago Bar Association, including participation in the Federal Estate and Gift Tax Committee. Brian writes a quarter column under the by-line “Untaxingly yours” for Taxes – The Tax Magazine, published by the CCH division of Wolters Kluwer’s.

Stacy E. Singer is a Senior Vice President and Central Region Advisory Practice Executive at The Northern Trust Company, where she works closely with trust professionals on all aspects of the delivery of fiduciary services to clients throughout the Midwest. She previously served as a Manager of Estate Settlement Services at Northern.  Ms. Singer joined Northern Trust in 2003. 

Ms. Singer was previously a Vice President in the Estate Administration Division at Harris Trust & Savings Bank in Chicago, where she handled the administration of decedent, minors and disabled estates. Prior to Harris, she was a member of the estate and succession planning department at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella, P.C., where she specialized in estate and succession planning strategies, estate and trust administration and guardianship for minors and disabled adults.  She has been appointed as a Guardian ad Litem in both decedent and disabled estates and as a Special Administrator in decedent estates.